Nick Mallett's England..

Which players will he go for?
How will he have us play?

Go look at the Springboks in 1998, how they trounced everyone with strong forwards and fast running backs.

Also have a look at Bergamasco at scrum half, has Croft played there?

WelshinEdinburgh wrote:Also have a look at Bergamasco at scrum half, has Croft played there?

Welshin you ******! You made me snort coffee onto my laptop! Properly laughed at that one - and nearly drowned.

Sorry nobbled, just dont rate Mallett, any coach who thinks putting your best flanker at scrum half has not got a clue, all his good work with South Africa was undone that day.

WelshinEdinburgh wrote:Sorry nobbled, just dont rate Mallett, any coach who thinks putting your best flanker at scrum half has not got a clue, all his good work with South Africa was undone that day.

Gatland's still doing it with Phillips

Thats a bit harsh, Phillips can nearly pass a rugby ball, Mauro ?????? no comment.

WelshinEdinburgh wrote:Thats a bit harsh, Phillips can nearly pass a rugby ball, Mauro ?????? no comment.

According to the BBC news website, Lancaster's the only man to have applied for the job

bluestonevedder wrote:According to the BBC news website, Lancaster's the only man to have applied for the job

They are incorrect. Nick Mallet told us on Supersport during the first weekend of the Six Nations he was asked to apply for the job.

haha, good old South African television- prioritising a sport that's actually worth watching. Cheers for the info biltong!

SafeAsMilk wrote:

WelshinEdinburgh wrote:Sorry nobbled, just dont rate Mallett, any coach who thinks putting your best flanker at scrum half has not got a clue, all his good work with South Africa was undone that day.

Gatland's still doing it with Phillips

Anyone remember John Hart having Jonah Lomu move to 9 to feed the scrum? Disasterous. You'd think Mallet would have spotted that one and seen the humiliating disaster it was.

bluestonevedder wrote:haha, good old South African television- prioritising a sport that's actually worth watching. Cheers for the info biltong!

Bluestonevedder, I would hazard a guess that we see more rugby live than any other nation.


We watch the following live.

Vodacom cup - SA
Currie Cup - SA
ITM Cup - NZ
Super XV - SH
Tri Nations - SH
Six Nations - NH
All Summer tours
All winter tours
We get 2 matches per weekend from the Heienken cup live.

We then also see a highlights package of the Top 14
And some live matches from the Aviva and some recorded.

We have rugby 24/7

Surely you mean The Rugby Championship Biltontongbek and not "Tri-Nations"?

I actually think that british TV combined betters that list. I can't think of a game I couldn't watch if I wanted to.

But at least you're not starving

Don't rub it in biltong!

Would that be free to view Bilt or on subscription? If it's the former then you have an embarrassment of rugby riches indeed!

biltongbek wrote:

bluestonevedder wrote:haha, good old South African television- prioritising a sport that's actually worth watching. Cheers for the info biltong!

Bluestonevedder, I would hazard a guess that we see more rugby live than any other nation.


We watch the following live.

Vodacom cup - SA
Currie Cup - SA
ITM Cup - NZ
Super XV - SH
Tri Nations - SH
Six Nations - NH
All Summer tours
All winter tours
We get 2 matches per weekend from the Heienken cup live.

We then also see a highlights package of the Top 14
And some live matches from the Aviva and some recorded.

We have rugby 24/7

Good isn't it Biltong. Sky in NZ has a dedicated Rugby Channel too . Today they're showing live Japanese rugby, French Top14 highlights, an NZ INL cup game from last year, a replay of Gloucester vs Northampton, a replay of Aus vs Wales in the RWC, Wellington 7s highlights, and RWC 2011 highlights, some NZ amateur club rugby from last season, and their "Northern Exposure" wrap up of rugby in the UK/Ireland/France. Not bad for a weekday in the (SH) off-season.

I blame Rupert Murdoch for everything.

Including the current troubles in Greece, and the fact that I'm wearing odd socks today.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

biltongbek wrote:

bluestonevedder wrote:haha, good old South African television- prioritising a sport that's actually worth watching. Cheers for the info biltong!

Bluestonevedder, I would hazard a guess that we see more rugby live than any other nation.


We watch the following live.

Vodacom cup - SA
Currie Cup - SA
ITM Cup - NZ
Super XV - SH
Tri Nations - SH
Six Nations - NH
All Summer tours
All winter tours
We get 2 matches per weekend from the Heienken cup live.

We then also see a highlights package of the Top 14
And some live matches from the Aviva and some recorded.

We have rugby 24/7

Good isn't it Biltong. Sky in NZ has a dedicated Rugby Channel too . Today they're showing live Japanese rugby, French Top14 highlights, an NZ INL cup game from last year, a replay of Gloucester vs Northampton, a replay of Aus vs Wales in the RWC, Wellington 7s highlights, and RWC 2011 highlights, some NZ amateur club rugby from last season, and their "Northern Exposure" wrap up of rugby in the UK/Ireland/France. Not bad for a weekday in the (SH) off-season.

And people wonder why we are the top two rugby nations in the world.

It is simple.



We don't just play it, we don't just watch it, we bloody well live it.

miteyironpaw wrote:Surely you mean The Rugby Championship Biltontongbek and not "Tri-Nations"?

I actually think that british TV combined betters that list. I can't think of a game I couldn't watch if I wanted to.

But at least you're not starving

mighty, they can call it what they want, Murdoch is trying his best to bugger up Super rugby, but hey, we'll keep on watching.

OH yes, I forgot about our junior rugby.

The Craven week is shown live - ALL OF IT
We see top school boy rugby live.
We see the Varsity Cup live
And the top amateur club rugby live as well.

Tough job, but someone has to watch it.

biltongbek wrote:Go look at the Springboks in 1998, how they trounced everyone with strong forwards and fast running backs.

One flaw to the plan Biltong.....

We dont have either of these!!!...

GeordieFalcon wrote:

biltongbek wrote:Go look at the Springboks in 1998, how they trounced everyone with strong forwards and fast running backs.

One flaw to the plan Biltong.....

We dont have either of these!!!...

Don't worry buddy he will find them.

biltongbek wrote:OH yes, I forgot about our junior rugby.

The Craven week is shown live - ALL OF IT
We see top school boy rugby live.
We see the Varsity Cup live
And the top amateur club rugby live as well.

Tough job, but someone has to watch it.

Schools rugby gets shown in NZ too

Admittedly in London my opportunities to go to live matches are better (I can get to Twickenham, Harlequins, London Irish, Wasps, London Scottish, London Welsh and probably several other grounds from home in under an hour).

Kiwi, don't you miss New Zealand?

biltongbek wrote:Kiwi, don't you miss New Zealand?

At times, very much. The things I do for my career etc etc.

Man if I lived in New Zealand I would be the happiest bloke, your countryside, the close proximity to the ocean is just heaven.

biltongbek wrote:Man if I lived in New Zealand I would be the happiest bloke, your countryside, the close proximity to the ocean is just heaven.

Now you are making me homesick. Luckily work is a block from a Kiwi/Aussie/Saffa/Canadian foods shop. Though the prices are criminal.

Ahem, well technically speaking, for the mo, biltong, achem top two rugby nations in the world currently, ahem, according to the rankings, are NZ and Oz... ahem..

LOL!

Don't all the Hobbits get under your feet though? And i don't like the look of that Sauron much, shifty looking fella, all on fire an that.

OzT wrote:Ahem, well technically speaking, for the mo, biltong, achem top two rugby nations in the world currently, ahem, according to the rankings, are NZ and Oz... ahem..

LOL!

Only momentarily my friend. However those spikes on a chart always come down again.

Carpe Diem wrote:Don't all the Hobbits get under your feet though? And i don't like the look of that Sauron much, shifty looking fella, all on fire an that.

He says in a feint whisper " That was just a movie mate."

Oh I know mate, but it's good to get a 2c worth in once a while, not often enough for us wallaby supporters though!!

Though am looking forward to the new comp, and how al of us shape up. You two lots wioth the new man in charge, and us still looking for that ellusive front row to complete the side.

Ah, i thought it was a documentary. "One does not simply walk into Aukland"...

I thought you guys have given up on looking for a front row, forsaken it for two more Coopers.

Sauron may look shifty, but Arwen's a bit sweet to watch

Carpe Diem wrote:Ah, i thought it was a documentary. "One does not simply walk into Aukland"...

You wanted to say Mockumentary, didn't you?

na mate, this write up form the RWC still haunts me...

It is an indication of how far scrummaging expectations have fallen if the world's No.2 side can be shunted backwards three times - conceding two penalties and narrowly escaping a pushover try - by the world's 11th ranked side and still be given a pass mark.

But we do have one decent front row, just so rarely have they played together the last few seasons, and with no backups at all!!!

OzT wrote:na mate, this write up form the RWC still haunts me...

It is an indication of how far scrummaging expectations have fallen if the world's No.2 side can be shunted backwards three times - conceding two penalties and narrowly escaping a pushover try - by the world's 11th ranked side and still be given a pass mark.

But we do have one decent front row, just so rarely have they played together the last few seasons, and with no backups at all!!!

I wouldn't worry about it too much though, you have done okay without a decent front row. Although BL was quite the acquisition.

biltongbek wrote:We watch the following live.

Vodacom cup - SA
Currie Cup - SA
ITM Cup - NZ
Super XV - SH
Tri Nations - SH
Six Nations - NH
All Summer tours
All winter tours
We get 2 matches per weekend from the Heienken cup live.

We then also see a highlights package of the Top 14
And some live matches from the Aviva and some recorded.

We have rugby 24/7

Other than the Vodacom cup we get the same as that list over here in Canada. Only problem is that the channel shows both Rugby and Wendyball, and due to Wendyball being more popular the rugby games are sometimes shown delayed by an hour or two. Not always a bad thing due to the time difference but can be annoying on really big Heienken Cup games, although we still get at least 3 live games a weekend during the group stages.

Get some strange kick off times over here during the S15 when the games are in Aus and NZ - the main Saturday evening game down there is usually shown live at about 10pm Friday night - cheers the Mrs up no end when she wants to watch some crappy movie

I solved that prblem a few years back.

I have a HD decoder for myself, then a dual view decoder for my wife and son, they both have their own tv's so I can watch sport to my heart's content.

biltongbek wrote:I solved that prblem a few years back.

I have a HD decoder for myself, then a dual view decoder for my wife and son, they both have their own tv's so I can watch sport to my heart's content.

Tried that, we have a pvr and HDtv's throughhout the house. The problem is that for some reason she seems to think we should at least spend some time together. No idea why, I thought that kind of thing was for newlyweds, not for those of us who have been married for years......

She's welcome to watch the rugby (or cricket) with me but for some strange girl type reason isn't bothered. She then seems truly put out when I refuse to watch rubbish like Wife Swap or Iron Chef America

On the question of Nick Mallet, it has always seemed like the RFU wanted him for the job and the only way he wouldn't have been offered the position was if Lancaster somehow achieved the Grand Slam. I've heard good and bad about him, agree that he did produce a very good Springbok team a while ago but the Bergamasco scrum half 'experiment' was just plain stupid. I also saw on here where someone had read Jake Whites Autobiography and they had described him as being what sounded like aloof and unapproachable. Not sure if White had some axe to grind or something, maybe biltongbek would know something about that.

Seems like the best available candidate who is actually prepared to do the job though. Should help him when he negotiates his bumper contract.

On the time together thing. We watch all the family comedy shows together, and my son and I watch Mythbusters and survival shows together, when he goes to bed, I am king of my own decoder.

On Nick Mallet, I know JW wasn't his biggest fan. As far as aloof and unapproachable, I will strongly disagree. Mallet was fired because he fought SARU on ticket prices of test matches. He is a very good and open communicator and an extremely passionate rugby man. He may have shocked one or two people with the odd experiment here and there, but with Italy anything is necessary to find an advantage due to their lack of depth in talent.

He is a very astute analyst and was my first choice to become our coach after PDV. England will be very fortunate to have him, in fact I have so much belief in his ability I will wager he will take England to the heights of 2003 if he was to be given a long enough run at the job. He will build England a squad they can at last again be very proud of

I'd probably prefer Kirwan to Mallett. I don't think Mallett's approach will be what we require.

Mallett had a great start to his Springboks coaching career, but that was nearly 15 years ago and the last year or so of his time there was far less inspiring. His Stade Francais side was successful, but also pretty limited in its approach. Italy progressed under him, but I think the same limited approach was evident and they could have developed further.

biltongbek wrote:and was my first choice to become our coach after PDV

So PDV was your first choice for the top job and Mallet second? I'm starting to hope Lancaster gets the job on a permanent basis

From the post that I read on here I got the impression that he was unapproachable from players point of view. Why did JW dislike him, after all he would have inherited Mallets good work and the mojority of his squad.

I will not be upset if Mallet does get the job, think he is the best available. In fact when Johnson first resigned I voted for him on the poll here on 606v2. That could have been as much to do with it meaning Mallinder stayed as Saints boss though as he was the other favorite at the time

No I meant after PDV's term.

As far as developing Italy as an international team, you cannot as a coach try to develop a game plan that your limited resources cannot cater for. Mallet was talking on Supersport and said Italy has less rugby players than the Eastern Cape in SA, now the Eastern Cape as a comparison lost to our currie cup winners of last year by 80 points a few weeks ago, if there isn't enough talent you are limited in what you can do with them, but like I said before I will be very happy if he doesn't get the job

biltongbek wrote:No I meant after PDV's term.

I knew that, just couldn't resist based on your well documented views of his time at the top.

Geez biltong i gotta see more of my own country more. I think we take things for granted here. Its odd the two things i look forward to is my now annual trip to the gold coast. Fantastic place to holiday.

The other thing i want to do is a safari as described by wilbur smith in his books. Except probably without the associated blood and gore!

Taylorman, if I was a younger man and still had the guts to start a life in a new country, NZ with its beautiful nature and coastlines would have been top of my list.

As far as Safari in Africa, the way to go these days is to get some dual purpose Tenere Yamaha's and then travel north from the Kruger National park North as far as your time allows you.

The other very popular way for South Africans is 4x4's through Namibia from the South African west coast going north and then west to the coast of Namibia and if the time allows back east from the northern border of Namibia to Botswana.